Everything is Paper
by HecateA
Summary: Airplanes and dolls, hearts and defense. Everything is paper, and everything is Travis and Katie. Oneshot.


**Hello! Birthday story for Nala who adores Katie and fluffy fanfics alike. Enjoy dearest. Slight HoO spoilers for the rest of you. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

* * *

**Everything is Paper**

It was funny to Katie how if you walked into the Athena cabin, models of airplanes and flying machines dangled from the ceiling. Everything from Leonardo de Vinci's concepts to the Wright Brother's first engines with WWII fighter jets in between had to be ducked under when entering Cabin Six.

And it was funny how the exact same thing applied to the Hermes cabin nowadays, but with paper airplanes instead. Katie was actually mildly impressed at the collection and array of design they'd managed to accumulate, but less so at the extreme over usage of paper.

"Travis?" She called.

He looked up from the middle of the room. He sat on a sleeping bag, showing a newbie how to make paper airplanes. It was an oddly charitable gesture on behalf of a child of Hermes- which probably meant that his paper had itching powder all over it, or was a forged government document that would freak him out if he took a look at it.

Travis looked up. His eyes were popping cornflower blue.

"Yeah Kit-Kat?"

"I'm not Kit-Kat," Katie said sharply. "Chiron would like to see the counsellors in the Big House and since Connor is a plant, that's you."

"Oh, cool," he said getting to his feet. "Deryn, manage yourself. This shouldn't take long. I'll fake an epileptic seizure if it does."

Katie huffed. "Well now I won't let you."

"Clearly using my outside voice was a mistake," he sighed before following her out, ducking under the paper air force.

"Did you make all of those?" Katie asked once they were outside, crossing the center green.

"Some of them," Travis said. "It's a group hobby to get over the wars, though. Also we have a lot of open space now."

"I didn't know there were that many ways to make paper airplanes," she said.

"There are plenty more. We're writing books about this, Kit-Kat."

She didn't even bother to correct him with the nickname. After three years, her resistance was zilch.

"How did you learn all of it?" Katie said. "Where did it begin?"

"Well, I had to do something useful in math class," Travis shrugged.

Typical, she thought as she rolled her eyes.

* * *

"Katie," Travis called catching up with her. "As an ambassador of Cabin Eleven, I approach you with the upmost respect, dignity and admiration to beg like a four year old because we seriously need your help."

Katie arched an eyebrow. "If you're going to ask me to grow anything illegal…"

"No!" Travis said.

"Go on," she said crossing her arms. The sun was shining. Like many campers, she and Travis had woken up and seen that today was a day for short shorts and tank tops and no contact with armour. Travis' well-defined arms poked out from a tank top and his basketball shorts dipped below his knees.

"We need a big floor space," he said. "May we borrow your floor?"

"No," Katie said. "Definitely no. Clean up your mess and use your own."

"We still have people sleeping on the ground," Travis sighed. "And some sleeping bags have been there for a long time and we are _not _ready to cope with what might have grown there."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Big house basement, then."

"Yeah: let's bring _Chris _to the Big house basement," Travis said, "sounds legit."

"Okay, I wasn't thinking, stop bugging me." Katie said. "Ask the children of Hephaestus for a corner of the forge. Why do you need this anyways?"

"The new kid had a good idea. We're planning on making the world's largest origami crane," Travis said. "Chris knows how and we've got a plan on how to fold things that may or may not involve a tiny grappling hook. We've started gluing paper together to make a huge one, but we need a location. Does my good cause make you reconsider?"

"No," Katie said. "I'll see you later, Travis."

As she walked away he yelled after her: "You're a child of Demeter! You like birds and wheat and stuff!"

* * *

Katie couldn't focus on what Chiron was saying about the bug bite epidemic spreading through Camp like wildfire. She was too distracted by the Stolls who kept popping up in her peripheral vision and dragging her attention back to themselves and their stupid origami.

"Katie?" Chiron asked.

She spun her head back towards him.

"Sorry, yes Chiron, what was that?" She asked.

"Do you think that your cabin might be able to help any?" He asked. Travis had her attention again. He was folding a square of paper into- _was that a dragon? _It'd been a poodle five seconds earlier what was he even _doing?_

"I… I'd think so yes. I'll take the older ones out and we'll have a look," Katie promised.

Travis was now holding a tiny origami dragon.

"Thank you, now our second point is that we've been having problems with weapons that have itching powder on their blades -throughout all cabins, don't just look at the Stolls…"

For the rest of the meeting Katie was completely unproductive, unhelpful and out of focus because Travis and Connor were battling with paper dragons under the table. Damn them. Damn them- especially since she got emotionally invested in Travis' tiny paper beast.

So he did more than paper airplanes…

* * *

Aboard the Argo II during one of the late-night parties, Travis was keeping his hands busy with origami during a game of Truth or Dare- though with half-bloods that translated to a game of 'Interrogation or Abuse'. That never stopped anyone from playing.

"Okay, my turn," Piper said. She looked around the little group at her choice of victims. "Travis. Truth or Dare?"

"Dare," he said.

"Alright," she said tucking her legs closer to herself. She eyed the origami in his hands. "I dare you to make a… a…"

"A frog? A plane? A small but wise Yoda?" Travis asked.

"No, something you might not know how to do…" Piper said biting her lip. "Okay, a heart. Make a heart."

"Easy peasy," Travis protested. He started with a fresh piece of paper and had a tiny heart in no time.

"Oh," Drew said. "Now I dare you to give that to the prettiest girl in the room."

She was obviously up to something, and Travis looked very alarmed.

"Whoa, that's two dares!" Travis said.

"Nuh-uh," Piper said- her genetics getting the better of her and fuelling her natural curiosity. "We're sisters. It counts as one dare."

Travis bit his lip and nearly shook in his boots. He turned towards Katie who was directly to his right and shoved the little heart in her shaking and surprised hands. She looked up at him not sure what to think. He was avoiding her eyes. He was nervous and unsure and shy. He was serious.

That was the night just before the breakfast where everyone discussed and heavily observed Travis Stoll and Katie Gardner as a couple, and the breakfast where Travis Stoll and Katie Gardner let them do it.

* * *

All of Camp was plunged into chaos. No weapons had been seen for the whole day –not even in the Ares Cabin, not even in the armoury's stash. All the celestial bronze blades had been switched with paper tomahawks, nunchuks, guns and throwing knives.

"You're bad," Katie said. She had to talk very quietly, for if Clarisse and her siblings found Travis up in the oak tree he was hiding in her boyfriend was dead meat. She leaned against the trunk and whispered to him.

"I actually think I'm quite good, for all the planning that that took." He whispered down. "And come on Katie; you and I both know that I'm a _fantastic _kisser."

"How did you find out?" Katie said looking up in the tree's branches.

* * *

Katie stayed poisoned at the window. She saw the little white tip breaking through the air, and caught it as it sailed through the window. The trajectory between cabins eleven and four was a bit tricky, but why in the world would you doubt Travis Stoll?

She unfolded the paper airplane and read the message by flashlight.

The children of Demeter had learned to cope with this late-night paper airplane business, just as they'd learned to endure the children of Hermes when Katie and Travis forced their cabins to spend time together.

Travis' penmanship was scratchy and crooked when he didn't try, and with Katie he'd stopped trying to impress a long time ago. Notably when he'd realised that it wouldn't work.

_You have three guesses to guess what my Glen Coco's sleep-talking about_

Katie had no idea and she scribbled so onto the plane and folded back its lines. She tossed it out the window. The throw never would have made it, if not for the child-of-Hermes magic Travis exercised over it.

_ He's talking about how he's the owner of a Cheetos production facility and he's getting sued by 'Oreo' for having an 'o' in his product name and then he went bankrupt and had to work at McDonald's but then he got fired because they thought he was a spy. _

She laughed in her pillow. Nobody in the cabin stirred- they were used to that too.

Katie scribbled an answer back.

_That's too funny. Please don't tell me that you're going to cover him in cheese powder and Oreo crumbs for when he wakes up._

She sent the plane back.

_How did you know? It's like you're right here next to me _Travis wrote back. Another paper plane burst through the window.

_But you're not, so I don't get to see you. That's inconvenient for me. Can we sneak out to the beach?_

Katie wrote back a reply. _Yes, but if I end up in prison I'll say it's my boyfriend's fault. _

She was pulling on her boots, putting a hoody over her pyjamas and watching the paper plane disappear towards Cabin Eleven when she heard a high-pitched screech. The plane was snatched out of the air. A harpy cackled to itself. It smashed the paper plane in one ball and Katie pulled off her hoody and boots and dove back under the covers as the monster came to examine her window.

They could always sneak out the next night, after all.

* * *

"I can't believe you thought I was cheating on you!" Travis said. He was red with anger. "I realise that I'm not the most reliable or good guy, but come on Katie. I wouldn't sink _that _low. How could you think I even could?"

Katie played with her hands and blinked back tears.

"I got scared," she said. "I'm so sorry. I'm just… I'm talking about university and New York and dreaming and that's… You were home for a month longer than you were planning on staying…"

"You don't think I care enough about your dreams to hear them without cracking like an egg?" Travis said. "Gods, Katie, I thought I'd been good enough!"

"Travis, this isn't about that," she begged.

"Well it looks awfully like," he said insulted. "If you're too good for me, then maybe you should go hang out with someone your own league. Maybe I should just stay with the bottom suckers and clear your life for trusty things."

Katie plopped down onto the ground and cried into her arms.

Travis' energy deflated, nearly draining the atmosphere.

He sat down next to her.

"Hey, I'm sorry Kit-Kat," he said. "I'm just jetlagged and I was sick and tired of my aunts and the first thing that Connor told me when I got back was that he'd heard you saying that to Annabeth… I shouldn't have accused you or anything. Especially not like I did. I just got really mad. "

"I'm sorry," Katie said trying to speak clearly. "I'm just… I'm not strong, Travis, I'm really fragile. I'm like a paper girl. I can tear and crinkle and get scrunched up and I'm never quite the same after. I was just scared to have one big tear going straight through my chest when someone mentioned how beautiful Californian girls were, and how they didn't mind getting into trouble. I'm always scared that _I'm _not good enough."

"Of course you are! And I guess you did put a lot at stake if you decided to date _me," _Travis said.

"Nothing I regret," Katie said honestly.

"It still makes you brave, my little Paper girl," he said kissing her ear.

* * *

Katie was still trying to coax her newest little sister, a very tiny five year old named Mindy, to talk to her. She hadn't said a word since stumbling across the property lines- the only reason they knew her name was because of her satyr.

The two sisters were sitting on the Demeter cabin's porch with a pitcher of lemonade and a plate of brownies that Katie had made for her in the Big House. Katie had noticed that they were her favourite foods.

Mindy was munching, and Katie was having a one-sided conversation. She was showing Mindy some tricks with flowers that she seemed to like.

"Knock, knock." They turned around and saw Travis who'd knocked on the cabin.

"Hello Travis," Katie said.

"Hey," he said. "Are you Mindy?"

She nodded, looking scared.

"It's nice to meet you," Travis said. He didn't look very comfortable, but he knelt next to Mindy's chair and held out his hand. "I'm Travis."

Mindy nodded.

"My whole cabin was really excited to hear that you were at camp," Travis said. "We got you a present."

Mindy looked at Katie for guidance.

"That's very sweet," Katie said beaming. "Does it deserve a thank you?"

Mindy nodded but didn't give it.

"You can… erg, open it." Travis said, getting up and scratching the back of his neck.

Mindy opened the little box and took out a tiny dolls wearing shorts and a tank top, and paper shapes that appeared to be clothes coloured with markers.

"Wow," Katie said. "Paper dolls."

Mindy seemed to know exactly what they were because she immediately started playing with them.

Travis looked at Katie nervously, and she got up to stand next to him. He slipped an arm around her waist as they watched the little girl play.

"Was that okay?" He asked quietly.

"That was great," Katie said. "Thank you Travis, that's really nice of you."

"I have my moments."

"Oh I know," Katie said. She kissed his neck. "And I have mine."

Mindy's first word to Katie, two days later was, 'have you seen the blue gown?'

* * *

Katie crumbled on the apartment couch.

"You okay?" Travis asked locking the door behind them.

"No, I am so _done _with my teacher," she said.

"Uh oh," he said. "That's not good."

"I know all of this stuff," Katie said. "Just… naturally, all of these rules about botany pop into my head and he gets so _mad _about it. Like, I corrected him about a law in ethnobotany today? _Big _mistake."

"Hey, nobody makes my girl feel horrible about studying something she loves!" Travis said defensively, wagging his finger. He plopped down next to her on the couch, his bag on their coffee table. He pulled something out of a small pocket.

"You know what you do to people who bother you Kit-Kat?" Travis said speaking very loudly and defensively. "Do you?"

"Tell them to stop," Katie asked.

"No, you microwave their hamsters and mix the pieces into their next meal," Travis said. "But you are too kind to do that and your influence has made me too kind to do that and Connor just isn't the docile slave he used to be. So alternatively, you throw them one of these," he said putting a paper ninja star in her hand. "You throw them one of these, nail them between the eyes and you tell them _Travis Stoll couldn't be here right now but this transmits his kindest regards and warns you to back the hell off his girlfriend though it's too late and he will find you anyways."_

Katie laughed. She closed her fingers around the star.

"Come on. Practise your throwing," he said pulling up his bangs.

Katie laughed harder. She leaned against his shoulder. "My gods Travis, you're the best."

* * *

It was Sunday morning. Neither of them had classes, nor did they have work. It was one of those rare moments, because life was capital-C crazy. Nice: but capital-C crazy. Capital-C crazy in bold on the days where the demigod scent would act up. But today was not one of those days. It was a very simple one, in fact. Travis was lounging in the living room, practising his favourite and perfected hobby –doing nothing. Katie hummed and practised her favourite hobby- making casseroles that she would later convince her boyfriend (the six year old boy afraid of greenery) to eat.

A paper plane landed in the sieve in which broccoli and cauliflower was draining.

"Travis," she scolded. "Not in the apartment and _especially _not in my food."

"Whoops, sorry." He said lazily from the living room.

She noticed the paper. It wasn't the usual lined sheet of paper ripped out of a spiral notebook or old notes or schoolwork. It was tinged apple green, the colour of Katie's eyes. And something in sharpie was bleeding through the paper.

She dried her hands on a dish towel, tossed it over her shoulder and unfolded the paper, pushing pieces of her bangs from her eyes as she did. The words were broken with folded lines.

**Katie Gardner will you marry me?**

She turned around with her jaw dropped to her knees and saw him leaning on the kitchen bar. He hopped down and did the whole down-on-one-knee business. He was holding a ring box.

"Did I need to put a please there?" He asked. "I'm not very familiar with proposing to people. Not something I do often."

She felt like the whole world was stuck in her throat. Her paper heart was both cheering and breaking.

"No," Katie said. "You just need to put that ring on my finger."


End file.
